News

Penguicon is a non-profit volunteer run conference! Many people contribute their time to help make Penguicon happen because they want to give back to our community. We want you as part of our team! Please consider putting a few hours into volunteering – it’s a great way to meet people, and a solid way to contribute to our community. Here is an example of available roles to volunteer in! ConSuite-available at various times throughout the weekend Beer Troll-Checking IDs and…

This year at Penguicon, attendees will be able to watch racers from Detroit Drone weave around tight corners and narrow spaces while overtaking competitors! Racers from Detroit Drone will be competing for trophies and con wide acclaim! The schedule on Saturday, May 5th, will be: 11am: Open Controlled Practice 12pm: Begin Rounds 5pm: Trophy/Prize Presentation If you are interested in participating and finding out more about the Local Drone User Group, please check out the Detroit Drone Group!

Burlesque was originally a literary, dramatic, or musical work designed to elicit laughter (hmmm… that doesn’t sound that far off from much of what we enjoy as geeks nowadays, does it?). As it evolved through the centuries, and Americans put their very specific stamp on it, it evolved into a form of musical expression of the self. And Penguicon is excited to present a Geeky Burlesque show on Friday, May 4th at 9pm in Big Top! Featuring: Tommy Gun! Florence…

It’s April 1st but it’s not a joke! The Programming Schedule has arrived!  The Programming Team has been working extremely hard to bring you over 460 unique events with more than 500 hours of programming provided by approximately 250 presenters and panelists!  I’m still not sure how they managed to fit so much into one weekend 🙂  Stay tuned for an update with details on Sched (our scheduling software) and all the awesome features it has built in.  If you should…

The Penguicon Cosplay Contest returns for another super awesome year! You’ll have a chance to show off all of your hard work, creativity, and ingenuity for some cool prizes and bragging rights! If you’re interested in competing, registration and prejudging will happen an hour before the contest. No skill level is required to enter. If you want to just show off your work without competing that’s fine too. We’ll also have a hallway contest throughout the weekend where people can…

Another St. Patrick’s day where that one neighbor keeps playing that one Dropkick Murphys CD they bought in the late 1990s done. Most of the mess cleaned-up. Life returning to normal. And then you’re hit with the looming realization Penguicon is less than six weeks away and you’ve yet to do anything to get ready for your panel or costume or party and you start to feel like Beaker. At least there’s an abundance of Easter (or, if you prefer,…

Like many Science Fiction conventions in the mid-west, our attendees often make ribbon-gathering into an event of its own via trading. While some ribbons represent official matters like who is staff or who is a presenter, most of them are fun, even silly ways to express yourself. Ribbons (intended to be attached to your membership badge) are one of the best things about SF/F conventions – sometimes they’re used to highlight roles (like Guests of Honor). They’re used to express your fandom (like…

Our Maker Market is chock full of artists from our community who make everything from paintings to leather to unique electronics.  Again this year, our makers are not reselling anything – it all comes from them.  This post highlighting our makers is the sixth in a series – be sure to check them out during Penguicon! Christine’s Unique Creations. LLC After a devastating diagnosis of MS Christine became inspired to create beautiful things after reading a story about a woman…

  For the third year in a row, Penguicon participants will be able to get hands-on with Linux in our new Computer Lab! We have upgraded all the computers and are excited to announce a Network CTF event for the first time at Penguicon! The Computer Lab is sponsored by the Michigan Cyber Range and powered by Merit Networks. The Michigan Cyber Range (MCR) helps cybersecurity professionals prepare for real-world situations. Space in the CTF event is limited! So please…

We are happy to announce our third and final Guest of Honor from the Writing Excuses Podcast – Amal El-Mohtar! Amal has won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards for short fiction, and has won the Rhysling award for poetry three times. She reviews books for NPR, was recently appointed the Otherworldly columnist for the New York Times, and lives in Ottawa with her spouse and two cats. Her work has appeared in magazines such as Tor.com, Fireside Fiction, Lightspeed, and Strange Horizons, and in anthologies…